Filmmaker Werner Herzog, known for his audacious cinematic exploits and philosophical pronouncements, recently premiered his latest feature, Bucking Fastard, at the Venice Film Festival, starring sisters Kate and Rooney Mara in a performance he lauded as "unique in film history." The movie, which received a six-and-a-half-minute standing ovation, delves into themes of obsessive love, shared identity, and the relentless pursuit of an impossible dream, all filtered through Herzog’s distinctive lens.
The Myth and the Man: Werner Herzog’s Enduring Legacy
Herzog has cultivated a formidable reputation throughout his decades-long career, frequently associated with extreme filmmaking conditions and intense collaborations. Yet, the German auteur, now in his 80s, maintains that much of this image is a media-constructed "fiction." "I’m the most organized, the most focused, the most friendly person you will ever see on a set. Period," Herzog asserted during a joint interview with the Mara sisters ahead of the film’s premiere. He attributes the sensational narratives to "the craze of media who want to create a Werner Herzog that is a fiction."
Despite his self-characterization as a mild-mannered professional, Herzog’s history offers ample fodder for his legendary status. This is the director who, for his 1982 epic Fitzcarraldo, famously hauled a 320-ton steamship over a hill in the Peruvian jungle without special effects. Decades prior, during the tumultuous production of Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), also deep in the jungle, he threatened to kill his volatile star Klaus Kinski should he abandon the film—an incident chronicled in Herzog’s 1999 documentary My Best Fiend. Beyond the jungle, Herzog famously ate his own shoe after losing a bet to fellow filmmaker Errol Morris following Morris’s completion of Gates of Heaven. Even a seemingly minor incident involving an air rifle bullet striking him during a BBC interview failed to deter him, as he calmly dismissed it as "not a significant bullet" and continued the discussion. These tales have cemented Herzog’s image as a singular, uncompromising artist.
A Unique Vision: The Genesis of Bucking Fastard
Given Herzog’s storied past, the decision by accomplished actresses Kate and Rooney Mara to collaborate with him might seem audacious to some. However, both sisters expressed immense enthusiasm. Rooney Mara described the opportunity as "one of the greatest experiences one can have," even stating she would have been content as a production assistant just to observe him. Kate Mara echoed this sentiment, revealing a long-held fascination with Herzog’s filmmaking style since seeing his documentaries, making the opportunity to work on Bucking Fastard a "dream."
The sisters portray Jean and Joan Holbrooke, Irish siblings who share an extraordinary bond, moving, speaking, and thinking in perfect unison. Their lives revolve around a shared dream and an equally shared, singular love for their neighbor, Gareth Mulroney (played by Orlando Bloom). When Gareth marries another woman, the sisters descend into a campaign of escalating mischief, including arson and ambush, transforming into local tabloid sensations. Their unusual behavior necessitates the intervention of a social worker (Domhnall Gleeson) tasked with helping them integrate into modern society. Eventually, they retreat to Ireland’s West Coast to live with their widowed aunt (Marion O’Dwyer). There, they embark on an even more ambitious endeavor: chipping away at a cave in a mountain range, convinced their tunnel will lead them to the mythical Orkney Islands, a place they believe holds the key to true love.
The narrative of Bucking Fastard draws loose inspiration from the real-life story of Freda and Greta Chaplin, identical twins from York, northern England. The Chaplin twins gained notoriety in the early 1980s after a court case brought their synchronized speech and unusual bond into the public eye, making them tabloid fixtures. Herzog’s adaptation explores the psychological depths and radical devotion of such an intertwined existence.
Crafting Synchronicity: The Mara Sisters’ Collaborative Performance
The most daunting aspect for the Mara sisters was the challenge of portraying characters who speak and move in perfect unison throughout the film. Kate Mara admitted this was their only source of "trepidation," not working with Herzog himself. "The scariest thing for us was just: How are we going to do this? How are we going to do an entire film in unison and in sync in that way?" she explained.
Rooney Mara revealed they engaged a voice coach and practiced extensively before filming began, describing the process as finding a "song, like a rhythm." To their surprise, and Herzog’s, the synchronicity came more naturally than anticipated. Herzog, who typically avoids rehearsals, allocated two weeks for Bucking Fastard but cut it short after just one, impressed by their instant chemistry and collaborative prowess. He declared, "Stop this. Meet me in front of my camera. You’re so good. Stop it." The sisters confirmed that their performance felt less like two actors playing off each other and more like "one performance," a uniquely collaborative effort that Herzog considers unprecedented in cinema.
Herzog’s Maverick Approach: Efficiency and Precision
Despite his wild reputation, Herzog’s filmmaking process proved to be remarkably precise and efficient. Rooney Mara noted her surprise at his "specificity," contrasting it with a preconceived notion of a more "wild and freewheeling" set. Herzog confirmed his direct approach, even interrupting mid-take if something was not exactly as envisioned.
His methodology is strikingly lean by contemporary industry standards. He employs a single camera, minimizes coverage, and often completes scenes in just two or three takes, sometimes even a single take for lengthy sequences. This efficiency translated into a rapid production schedule; the film finished "under schedule and under budget," often wrapping hours early. This contrasts sharply with the often-protracted and multi-camera shoots prevalent in modern filmmaking, highlighting Herzog’s singular, focused vision.
Thematic Threads: Dreams, Obsession, and the Doable
Herzog frequently connects Bucking Fastard to earlier works like Fitzcarraldo and Grizzly Man, identifying a shared thematic core. For him, the sisters’ relentless digging for the Orkney Islands mirrors the protagonist’s dream of bringing opera to the jungle in Fitzcarraldo. Both represent an audacious pursuit of an ideal, almost mythical place where profound aspirations can be realized.
This connection underscores Herzog’s personal philosophy: "Everybody should dig a tunnel. Every grown-up man should move a ship over a mountain. Every grown-up woman should dig a tunnel through a mountain range. It’s very simple: Just go out and do it." He emphasizes the importance of dreaming big but always within the realm of the "doable," a mantra that has defined his own career, largely undertaken without formal film education. The Mara sisters’ characters, in their steadfast dedication to their seemingly irrational quest, embody this very principle.
Humor in the Wilderness: Unpacking the Film’s Unexpected Tone
Audiences may be surprised by the humor woven into Bucking Fastard. Herzog, known for his often intense and dramatic narratives, acknowledged the film contains "dark humor" and even "Bavarian humor" that he believes Americans and Mexicans might grasp more readily than some Germans. Kate Mara praised Herzog’s personal sense of humor, stating he is "one of the funniest people." Rooney Mara affirmed the joyous atmosphere on set, remarking, "I laughed more than I have in years making this film." This unexpected levity adds another layer to Herzog’s complex artistic palette.
A Poet’s Unswayed Path: Herzog’s Cultural Resonance
Herzog’s unique appeal extends beyond cinephiles to a surprisingly young demographic. He noted that his Instagram account, managed by his younger son, shows 85 percent of his followers are between 15 and 20 years old. He attributes this to the inherent quality of his films, now widely accessible on streaming platforms. Rooney Mara offered another explanation: "You are a singular human being. You are yourself. You really don’t give a s***. You march to the beat of your own drum so thoroughly, and people love that because that’s what we all want to do." Herzog, ever laconic, simply responded, "But I’m just a poet."
This uncompromising authenticity, coupled with a remarkably focused and quiet set environment—devoid of cell phones, video playbacks, and large crews—offers a stark contrast to mainstream film production. Herzog likens his set to "open-heart surgery, only in whispers, going straight for the essential and nothing else." This disciplined approach, where even the director himself operates the slate, deeply impressed the Mara sisters and offers valuable lessons for aspiring filmmakers about focus and genuine artistic commitment.
Beyond Earth: Herzog’s Cosmic Ambitions and Criticisms
Even at 80, Herzog’s creative output remains prodigious, with another film nearing completion and a photography book in the works. His ambitions also stretch beyond Earth. He has long expressed a desire to make a film in space, having approached NASA and even a Japanese billionaire planning a moon mission, both of whom declined. Elon Musk, however, has reportedly promised Herzog a seat on a future Mars mission. Yet, Herzog remains deeply critical of Musk’s broader vision for colonizing Mars with a million people. "That’s a pipe dream… That’s an obscenity. We should rather keep this planet inhabitable," Herzog stated, emphasizing his focus on humanity’s responsibility to Earth.
A Shared Journey: The Sisters’ Long-Awaited Collaboration
For Kate and Rooney Mara, Bucking Fastard marks their first on-screen collaboration in leading roles, a significant milestone in their respective careers. They explained the difficulty of finding a project that offered "equally interesting and good" roles for both, coupled with a director they both passionately admired. The alignment of these factors in Bucking Fastard felt "incredibly magical" and "simple," making the long-awaited sisterly collaboration a reality. The experience of portraying such intertwined characters, effectively forming "one performance," was described as "very surreal" and "impossible to compare to anything else" by the sisters.
As Bucking Fastard begins its journey, it stands as a testament to Werner Herzog’s enduring power to provoke, inspire, and craft singular cinematic experiences. Bolstered by the remarkable, synchronized performances of Kate and Rooney Mara, the film reinforces Herzog’s reputation not just as a filmmaker of extremes, but as a poet whose unique vision continues to resonate deeply with audiences across generations.
